The emergency exit door burst open as Lucas guided Aiden down a poorly lit stairwell. The atmosphere was heavy with foreboding, the echoes of their racing footsteps off the concrete walls. Outside, sirens screamed—security alarms, police, or something a whole lot worse. Lucas navigated with an air of practiced ease, his hold on Aiden's wrist firm, propelling him downwards with precision planning.

  "Where are we going?" Aiden hissed, struggling to keep pace.

  "Underground parking. Safer than the main exits," Lucas replied without slowing. "They prepared for this attack too well. We have to assume they're monitoring all the obvious exits."

  Aiden's heartbeat thudded in his ears. He was accustomed to problem-solving in boardrooms and coding facilities, not escaping armed men in his own building. "And if they're waiting down there too?"

  Lucas gave him a quick, sharp look. "Then I take care of them."

  They descended to the lowest floor, and Lucas raised a hand, motioning Aiden back. He looked around the corner, taking in the poorly lit garage. Oil and cold concrete filled the air. Cars were parked all the way along the space, their shadows reaching out menacingly below them. Nothing appeared to be wrong at first.

  Then Lucas saw it—a man by the door, wearing black, an earpiece catching the dim light. Armed. Not security.

  Lucas gestured for Aiden to get down behind a pillar. He crept forward like a ghost, soundless and deadly, his gun in hand as he closed in on the unsuspecting intruder. A second later, there was a muffled struggle, a groan of pain, and then the man fell to the ground.

  Lucas pulled him around a pillar and glanced at his comms. "One down. There may be more close. We keep moving."

  Aiden sucked in a hard breath. "Remind me not to underestimate you."

  "Noted," Lucas spoke, his voice dry. "Let's go."

  They moved to a sleek black SUV sitting in the corner. Lucas had a quick scan of the perimeter before unlocking the vehicle. "Get in."

  Aiden had hardly enough time to buckle his seatbelt before Lucas accelerated the engine and peeled out of the garage. Tires screamed on the pavement as they hurtled onto the road.

  "Who the hell are these people?" Aiden demanded, winded.

  "Not ordinary criminals. This was a strategic violation," Lucas stated, looking in the rearview mirror. "They knew where to strike, how to travel, how to disable your security. That indicates they've researched you. This isn't random."

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

  Aiden's gut knotted. He had adversaries, of course—competitor tech firms, hackers who hated his work, even political factions against AI growth. But who would do this?

  Lucas’s voice cut through his thoughts. "We’re being followed."

  Aiden turned, heart hammering. Two dark sedans had appeared in the rearview, their headlights closing in fast.

  "Buckle up," Lucas said, gripping the wheel tighter.

  Aiden barely had time to react before Lucas made a sharp turn onto a side street, tires skidding as they accelerated. The pursuing cars followed, weaving through traffic with unsettling determination.

  "They're not surrendering," Aiden growled, tension twisting in his belly.

  Lucas's jaw clenched. "They won't. Wait it out."

  With a swift, deliberate motion, Lucas jerked the wheel, the SUV careening into a small alleyway. The walls rushed by in a blur as they hurtled down the narrow alley, overturning trash cans and scraping the side of a long-abandoned pallet. One of the sedans attempted to follow—only to overestimate the turn and crash into the wall with a grotesque crunch.

  "One down," Lucas grumbled, looking in the mirror. The second vehicle was still hot on their tail, unrelenting.

  Aiden was breathing hard. "Please tell me you have a plan."

  Lucas smirked without humor. "Always."

  The SUV roared out of the alley and onto a main road. Lucas floored the accelerator, cutting through traffic with near-human accuracy. The second car remained on their tail, but Lucas had already predicted their next action. As they came up to an intersection, he slammed on the handbrake, swinging the SUV into a tight drift before accelerating down another side street.

  The following car overshot the corner, sliding crazily before colliding with a truck driving in the opposite direction.

  Lucas breathed a sigh, finally taking some pressure off the SUV's speed. "That gives us some time."

  Aiden's fists were knotted around his seatbelt. "You're a maniac behind the wheel."

  "You're alive, aren't you?"

  Aiden managed a trembly laugh, but the seriousness of the situation weighed down on him. "Lucas. this is bigger than I thought."

  Lucas nodded, his face somber. "Yeah. And it's not over yet. We have to track down who's doing this before they make their next move."

  Aiden gulped hard. Whoever was gunning for him wasn't finished. And much as he didn't want to acknowledge it, Lucas was the only reason he was still breathing.

  "Where do we go now?" Aiden asked.

  Lucas looked at him, then back at the road. "Somewhere safe. And then, we hunt them before they hunt us."

  The night lay before them, uncharted and perilous. But one thing was certain—this was only the start.